The Orange Order had a “straight talking” meeting with Secretary of State Theresa Villiers today - and demanded she help scrap parading laws.

During a “robust” exchange at their East Belfast headquarters, leading members of the organisation presented her “with a formal request urging her to personally intervene and commence a process to replace the current parading legislation, with an emphasis on fair and equitable regulations for all communities”.

The orangemen argued that current legislation is biased towards nationalists and was “gifted to Republicans as part of their wish list to stop murdering people”.

In a letter handed to the SoS, they added: “We have suffered the injustice and arrogance of the Parades Commission long enough. As parading legislation is a reserved matter we implore you and the Government at Westminster to act in the best interests of citizens of the United Kingdom, rather than be held hostage by those whose intolerance legitimises and legalises cultural apartheid on our roads.”

“The time for the Government to act to lance the boil of discrimination that the parading legislation has created is long overdue. There can be no true stability and enhanced relationships, while the traditions of one community are so shabbily dealt with at the behest of the other.”

The Order added that the “Secretary of State was in left in no doubt about the feelings of the Institution regarding the ongoing impasse”.